Ball lightning is considered one of the most mysterious natural phenomena today. Until recently, scientists have not come to a consensus about its origin. Recently, the Chinese researcher Hui-Chun Wu proposed a new, very convincing version of the explanation of the phenomenon, outlining it in a scientific article published in the journal Scientific Reports.
Sizzling balls
Not all fireballs observed by people are lightning. Ball-shaped fires can be seen in swamps or cemeteries - they are a product of the vital activity of organisms: the decomposition of organic matter leads to the release of methane and hydrogen phosphorus, which burn by reacting with oxygen. During earthquakes, fireballs can also jump out of the ground: when underground rocks collide with each other, a stream of electrons rises to the surface, which interact with the atmosphere, generating light flashes. Ball lightning itself is formed in the atmosphere as a result of lightning discharges.
As a rule, attention is drawn to the unusual appearance and behavior of ball lightning. They come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. There are cases when ball lightning appeared even in closed rooms, penetrated through closed windows or descended through pipes … They are capable of generating electrical discharges themselves, and their appearance is often accompanied by hiss and buzzing, as well as a strong unpleasant odor.
Typically, the period of existence of ball lightning is only a few seconds, while it burns like a bright lamp.
Evidence and hypothesis
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There is a lot of evidence of encounters with ball lightning. So, in the spring of 1963, astronomer Roger Jennison watched as lightning hit the plane on which he flew. After that, a luminous ball the size of a basketball appeared in the aircraft cabin. According to an eyewitness scientist, the balloon "appeared from the side of the cockpit and flew along the aisle between the seats, maintaining a constant altitude and course all the way until it was visible."
One British woman describes the visit of ball lightning to her home as follows: “A huge orange ball, similar to a grapefruit, but more orange and friable around the edges, flew in through a window that was closed and on which the curtains were also drawn. It flew horizontally at about shoulder height for about ten seconds, after which there was a thunderclap just over my head, so strong that I fell off the chair."
The ability to penetrate confined spaces and other unusual characteristics have led scientists to seek an explanation for the nature of ball lightning. For example, there are theories that such lightning is a cloud consisting of incandescent silicon particles, the result of a nuclear reaction, a mini-black hole, a polymer compound, and even … a hallucination arising from the effect of ordinary lightning on a person!
Microwaves and Plasma
Hui-Chun Wu of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou thinks ball lightning could be a microwave bubble filled with plasma. The hypothesis is by no means new, but researchers have previously suggested that such bubbles can form under the influence of microwave radiation emitted by thunderclouds or atmospheric masers. Wu also suggested that the source of microwaves is a beam of electrons capable of accelerating almost to the speed of light when lightning strikes the ground.
By charging the surrounding air, microwaves create plasma. The radiation pressure is strong enough to form a bubble from the scattered plasma. Once inside it, microwaves continue to "generate" plasma, and this supports the existence of ball lightning. But in the end it still “dies”, since the radiation inside the bubble is scattered again. Sometimes the bubbles burst and the microwaves "pop" outward, resulting in an explosion.
If ball lightning really has a plasma-microwave nature, this explains many of its properties. For example, it is known that microwaves are able to penetrate through a window glass, so a closed window cannot serve as an obstacle for lightning. In addition, electrons can pass through metal surfaces. Therefore, they overcome the aircraft body skin, reaching near-light speeds outside of it. In turn, once inside the plane, the electrons begin to emit microwaves, and as a result, ball lightning is formed … As for the size of ball lightning, the diameter of the microwave bubble corresponds to the standard length of the electron beam, which "accelerate" under the influence of a lightning strike - from 20 to 50 centimeters.
Also, the human hearing can perceive the sound emitted by these waves, and the plasma can "produce" ozone from atmospheric oxygen, which just has the already mentioned pungent smell.
Of course, the hypothesis put forward by Y will still need to be confirmed in all respects. But today it, perhaps, looks the most reasonable of all existing ones. It is possible that in the coming years the riddle of ball lightning will still be solved and all its "oddities" will receive a scientific explanation.